This cafe racer is build from a Yamaha XJ600 Diversion. Read all about the build.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

Ardi, a friend of the company, bought a bright yellow Yamaha XJ600 Diversion… A bike that is not normally used to transform into a Cafe Racer… A challenge… Ardi came to us with the request to rebuild this bike for his beautiful wife’s birthday, Anne-Klare.

“Can you make something out of it??” He asked. “Of course we can! Every bike has the potential to shine!” We replied. Modern, affordable, bad-ass and stunning!! That’s our thought when starting with this bike.

And after stripping the plastics, ideas began to roll. Anne-Klare is not a thirteen in a dozen girl (Dutch saying that she’s not the average girl next door). So a bike that fits her. Quick thoughts about a pink tank and a girly bike were immediately shredded. A bad-ass bike with a subtle feeling, build for long distance and Dutch weather. That was the aim with this build.

THE JOURNEY OF A CAFE RACER

A Yamaha XJ600 Diversion is a bike with a modern box-frame look, but still with the round pipes, whereby the air filter is fitted underneath the gas tank. With this hidden air filter location and the fact that Dutch weather isn’t always as sunny as we want it to be… We decided to keep the original air filter. It takes up a huge amount of space underneath the tank, but the pros are that it is a water proof system and there is no need to rejet the carbs. The cons were that this is also the location where we intended to house the entire bike’s electronics… Luckily batteries are becoming smaller these days. And we were able to fit a battery box between the engine and the air filter system. Millimeter work with still enough space for a contact switch, starter relais, fuse box, wire connections, ignition coils, etc.

With that sorted we started looking at the rest of the bike. And honestly, the bike itself was in top notch condition! The original paint was still perfect all over the bike and with that we decided to keep a few more original elements. The wheels, engine and front forks still have the original paint job on them. Based on this color setting we designed the rest of the bike. New subframe, custom seat, subtle covers in front to hide the electronics from the eyes of perfectionists, a front fender whereby we choose to use the original fender mounting slightly differently…

The original pipes were the only parts of the bike that had been affected by the weather and we decided to chuck them. In any case, a 4 in 1 pipe looks way better than the original 4 in 2 pipes! The exhaust used here is a Takkoni muffler. This is the finishing touch that gives her the sound we like to hear. A loud, deep, howling sound that makes any biker jealous whilst your eardrums can still survive a long distance trip. In other words, a bike to drive!

LIST OF MODIFICATIONS

Custom subframe

Custom seat

Rewiring the entire bike

Relocation of all electronics

Custom front cover to hide the electronics

Custom front fender

New handle bars including grips, handles, etc.

The complete frame is powder coated

A digital Daytona Velona speedo. *

Every detail, including all custom brackets are powder coated as well

Heidenau K60 tyres (Cool look and made for all road conditions!)

And of course a custom paint job on the gas tank

* We wrote about this speedo before. Upon contact this speedo makes a whooossshh movement with its speed indicator needle (really cool!) and has a volt meter, odo, time, etc. A recommendation for anyone that is building a bike!

SPECIAL THANKS

This Diversion really is a bike which we are proud of! A nice riders bike, build with a budget and guaranteed for years of pleasure. The remaining question is what style it is… Not a Cafe Racer… A scrambler? A Tracker? Or just a mix of it all? In any case, we love it and we wish Anne-Klare loads of fun with it!

Credits for the pictures go to Laurens Huisman, co-founder of Wrench Kings and a good friend of the company!